Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan saluted hat-trick hero Brian O'Driscoll as his side got back to winning ways with a 43-22 victory over Scotland at Lansdowne Road.

The Irish were under pressure to deliver after their hammering by England a fortnight ago and although it was a scrappy performance in the main O'Driscoll's three tries in addition to scores from Shane Horgan and Simon Easterby lifted the gloom from Irish rugby.

O'Sullivan said: "What can I say about Brian O'Driscoll?

"His first hat-trick in the Six Nations came when he was relatively unknown. Everybody knows about him now and he can still deliver. That takes something special.

"He can weave some magic in tight situations and you always want to have those players in your line-up.

"They can produce something out of nothing and games do turn on moments like that. He has that capability - and long may it continue."

O'Sullivan called O'Driscoll's third try "pure class" but preferred to highlight another aspect of his play during the game.

He said: "For me I think Brian's best moment was the pass he gave to Shane Horgan for the try he scored.

"It was a 25-metre pass off his left hand and out of contact. Nobody does that.

"He's such a wonderful player but I think he would be the first to recognise he's got players around him who are really working hard to give him those opportunities."

O'Sullivan accepted the scoreline was flattering to his side but admitted: "We felt the need to perform well and with that victory comes a certain amount of relief.

"We had some breaks at crucial times and we were clinical with them but it wasn't until Brian went over for the final try that I relaxed."

Scottish coach Ian McGeechan was unhappy with his side's performance and said they only had themselves to blame.

He said: "We're pretty disappointed because we lead to our own downfall.

"We made a lot of mistakes and gave Ireland easy scores.

"There were things in the first half we should have been more direct with but we made mistakes which ultimately gave Ireland soft scores."